Day 113
Location 20: Sofia, Bulgaria
Feb. 21, 2023
In my unwavering pursuit to play basketball in every city I visit, I found a court in Sofia well-protected within the confines of a private sports complex, guarded by a $15/hour fee. It was dark out, but I assumed the court would have lights. Reception waving me in without a fee (and with a look of pity) should've tipped me off that I was in the process of making an ass out of you and me. In other words, I assumed wrongly: no lights, just darkness.
You know in The Dark Knight Rises, when Bane taunts the caped crusader “you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it”? Well, as I shot a basketball in the dark on the outskirts of Sofia—a city I was wholly unaware of until a week ago—I felt like a young Bane befriending the usually unfriendly dark. By the shoot-around's end, I felt capable of taking on whatever the basketball equivalent of Batman is. Then I wondered what is the basketball equivalent of Batman? I decided it's a literal bat. I know what you're thinking "Dylan, that's stupid. When would fighting a bat be useful for a basketball player?". Good question. A quick history lesson:
During a 2009 San Antonio Spurs NBA game, a bat entered the arena, flew around, and caused a delay in the game. Eventually, Manu Ginobli, a hall-of-fame Spurs guard swatted the bat onto the ground. Want to hear something even crazier? That happened on October 31st. On Hallo-fucking-ween. I know what you're thinking "Dylan, he took down one bat, it's still not enough to warrant you deciding that the basketball equivalent of Batman is a real bat. It's not like Manu will be remembered for this display of ultimate skill." Wrong! 10 years later in 2019 (10 years!!) two bats once again delayed a San Antonio Spurs game and immediately the fans started to chant out the name of their silent guardian. Their watchful protector. Manu! Manu!"
Based on all of this, it’s safe to say that a young Manu likely cut his teeth on this dark court in Sofia.
